The present invention relates to a pair of work pants having a built-in safety harness.
The term "working trousers" is used herein as a synonym for work pants.
An example of earlier known working trousers combined with a safety harness is described in French Patent Specification No. 2,292,492. The trousers according to this Patent Specification are combined with a safety harness, which according to one alternative can be fastened to the inside of the trousers as an integrated part thereof. The harness straps may be firmly glued, sewn or welded to the inside of the trousers in a manner such that when putting on the trousers, the harness straps will lie in their readiness-positions around the body of the wearer. The harness has coupling devices which are intended to be coupled to a safety line and which are readily accessible on the front of the trousers for connection to the safety line as required.
The object of such a safety harness is that it shall always be found in position around the body of the wearer when the wearer puts the trousers on.
A safety harness intended for a similar purpose is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,382,816. This patent, however, does not relate to a pair of working trousers, but to a jacket with a built-in parachute harness. Comprehensive constructional changes would be required in order to alter this jacket into a pair of working trousers with a built-in safety harness intended, for instance, for building workers. Among other things, it would be necessary to cut the American jacket in its waist region and extend its leg openings with trouser legs, such as to form working trousers with legs. It would also be necessary to cut the shoulder straps supporting the harness at the waist strap. The lining of the jacket is sewn firmly to the jacket waist band. It would also be necessary to extend the waist band and provide said band with a buckle so as to provide a tightenable waist belt. The axle straps merge with a transverse strap having a rearwardly located centre part to which the ends of thigh straps are fastened, said thigh straps forming forwardly located parts of adjustable lengths and are fastened to the shoulder straps. This centre part of the strap is not fastened to the lining.
Neither are the tie scraps of the American harness sewn firmly to the lining, but lie freely in tunnels provided on the rear side of the jacket and formed by folding-over and sewing collars on the rear side of the lining.
In the case of the American jacket, it is necessary to extend the leg openings of the lining with leg portions which extend down into the trouser legs
Other alterations must be made in order for the American jacket to correspond to the type of working trousers of the present invention in order to ensure that the safety harness of the trousers will adopt a close position relative to adjacent parts of the body and therewith prevent excessive, free movement of harness parts before the parts come into contact with adjacent body parts. This greatly reduces the risk of jolting which is liable to occur with wide working trousers provided with known built-in safety harnesses.
Working trousers are normally spacious, with wide legs, to afford the wearer the best possible freedom of movement. Consequently, the safety harness fastened to the inside of the trousers must be adapted to the size of the trousers concerned, which in turn means that the harness will be larger than is desired with respect to the fact that the different strap-parts around the thighs and hips of the wearer will not need to move freely to an excessive extent prior to being brought into abutment with respective parts of the body. This free movement namely enables the various parts of the harness and the trouser parts to which they are fastened to be placed in different positions against respective parts of the body and in some cases to be so wrongly positioned that the harness can cause injury to the wearer should he/she fall unintentionally or be brought to a halt by the harness.